By Hannah Blackwell
Head coach Liza Burgess has named her Wales Women U20s side to take on Canada at Cardiff Arms Park on Wednesday in the Transatlantic Quad Series (KO 8pm).
Both teams enter the match on the back of encouraging wins from the last round.
After a fruitless and challenging Six Nations campaign, Wales bounced back with a tenacious 38-31 victory against USA, while Canada claimed a thrilling 36-33 victory over England.
https://twitter.com/SixNationsU20/status/1815728197658431977
Wales scored six tries in their victory with player of the match Maisie Davies leading the way with Milly Summer, Molly Wakely, Alaw Pyrs, Maisie Davies ,Hannah Lane and Jess Rogers all scoring with full back Nel Metcalfe adding four conversions.
“The focus of the Six Nations was on opportunity and performance so to get the win against USA was huge,” said Burgess.
“The girls had come in on the back of three games in 10 days. They showed real grit and determination, especially in the second half where we rectified a few things. The perseverance and resilience was encouraging to see and they stuck to the process in the second half to come through to hold out for the win.”
https://twitter.com/WelshRugbyUnion/status/1814406358575218777
Both USA and Wales threw the ball about in a free-flowing spectacle but Burgess felt her side were always in command.
“I felt we were in control – in fairness to USA they kept coming at us but it was mostly our errors keeping them in the game. In the second half we stepped up even though we left a few tries begging but certainly going into the Canada game, it has given us a real boost.
“Canada bring a lot of physicality – they are very fit and possess physical athletes and they will bring a strong scrum to the game.– they are well drilled so it is going to be an interesting battle for us and will require a lot of resilience from the players. Five games in 21 days is a huge effort for the girls.
“To finish off our campaign with another winning performance would be the icing on the cake for the girls,” added Burgess.
England U20s will play USA U20s, in the earlier kick-off in the double header, where entry is free. (KO:5.30pm)
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1815779109147926591
Wales U20s v Canada U20s, Cardiff Arms Park, Wed, July 24th (KO: 8pm)
1 Maisie Davies
2 Abi Meyrick
3 Lowri Williams
4 Milly Summer
5 Alaw Pyrs
6 Lily Terry
7 Lucy Isaac
8 Jess Rogers (Capy)
9 Seren Singleton
10 Freya Bell
11 Nel Metcalfe
12 Savannah Picton Powell
13 Kelsie Webster
14 Hannah Lane
15 Ellie Tromans
Replacements
16 Molly Wakely
17 Chloe Thomas Bradley
18 Meg Lewis
19 Robyn Davies
20 Catrin Stewart
21 Katie Bevans
22 Hanna Marshall
23 Ffion Davies
Squad’s ready ⚔️
USA Women’s U20s on site in Cardiff for a showdown with Wales. Watch live on @rugbypass TV. pic.twitter.com/HDiGx2Bwhp
— USA Rugby (@USARugby) July 19, 2024
